England were impressive in the Calcutta Cup victory but now need to kick on

The autumn demolition of the All Blacks provided a great platform for Stuart Lancaster’s team to kick on.

I’m delighted they have taken this opportunity with a very strong performance against a good Scotland team.

Making adjustments and trying to improve performance are so much easier from a winning platform as nothing major needs to change. However, England must concentrate on the detail, the ‘one per centers’ that all add up to make the difference.

Top sports teams really understand this concept. Ireland will be a big step up from playing Scotland at Twickenham — but you get a feeling England are in a good place.

Progress: England kicked on from their great win over the All-Blacks with an impressive win in the opening match of the Six Nations

SECOND LINE OF ATTACK

You see outstanding performances by club players, but never know if the guy will step up on the international stage. I’ve seen talented players who couldn’t cut it at Twickenham, while other fit straight in.

On his debut, Billy Twelvetrees did the same job at inside centre that Will Greenwood and Mike Catt once did so brilliantly. He put the brakes on Scotland’s defence — they could not target the fly-half as Twelvetrees offered a second platform from which to attack. Early in Jonny Wilkinson’s career he was dominated by France flanker Serge Betsen. From then on, he played alongside a second fly-half and it never happened again.

The ability to organise is crucial at inside centre. You communicate to take pressure off No 10. Owen Farrell can stand flat on the gainline, knowing Twelvetrees has dropped deeper as an option to pass wide or kick. When Farrell was under pressure, Twelvetrees was telling him if an attack was on or off, spotting a line or offering himself as a get-out option.

Making the grade: After exceptional club performances, Billy Twelvetrees (centre) made the step up to international level with ease

BIG CALL TO MAKE

I would bring Manu Tuilagi back in the midfield. It is cruel as it could mean Brad Barritt doesn’t even make the trip to Dublin. On the bench you need someone to cover the back three, a scrum-half and an extra playmaker to cover the half backs.

Barritt is an anchor in defence, but you need to pick a team to attack. Tuilagi against Brian O’Driscoll is an exciting match-up. It’s fantastic England have a player who would relish taking on the Irish talisman.

Whenever possible a two-pass rule from every phase was my mantra: the first receiver must pass the ball, as it stops the defence just lining up to hit you. The speed of ball was good on Saturday, but can always get better. From the ruck, it was refreshing to see there wasn’t just a pod of forwards receiving a pass then hitting contact.

The forwards showed good hands, too. Joe Marler’s pass for Chris Ashton’s try was the highlight of the game for me. Speed of ball can be improved off the scrum and lineout, but in open play it was good. If England can continue to improve this, it will scare teams.

Two -pass rule: Joe Marler (centre) made the pass of the match to set up Chris Ashton's try

THE BOY OWEN

It is a great compliment to Farrell to compare him to Wilkinson, who was the ultimate player. At 21, Farrell is the same age that Wilkinson was at this stage of the World Cup cycle.

But it is not just his age, it is the way he deals with pressure, his modesty and his ability to kick goals. England can develop two great 10s as I believe Freddie Burns will also come through — add Toby Flood and England are strong in the pivotal position.

Almost Perfect: England's Owen Farrell (pictured) scored from seven of his eight attempted kicks and was excellent throughout

There is a myth that my England team were old at the 2003 World Cup. Yes, we had some experienced players, but at this stage, two-and-a-half years out from a World Cup, the average age of the starting XV which won in Sydney was 25 years, six months. The average age on Saturday was 24 years, six months — only one year younger. As many of this team are starting to show: if you’re good enough, you’re old enough.

KEEP ON TRYING

Home or away, England should keep a ‘30-plus’ mindset: score 30 points and you are going to win.

Ireland conceded 13 penalties and three tries in Cardiff whereas England’s discipline was good against Scotland.

Conceding only seven penalties showed they were committing the right number to the breakdown and were technically correct in much of what they were doing. They should not change their game plan in Dublin.

The mentality needs to be that there is nothing wrong with losing, there is everything wrong with not performing. You only go backwards if you stop playing positive rugby. Three years out from the World Cup we were averaging five tries a game.

The trick is to take the mystique out of being in a different ground. The only change is the referee. Go and score four or five tries in Dublin.

Keep going: Brad Barritt is tackled

CAPTAIN’S ROLE

There is one rule to picking a captain — you have to totally trust him to deliver your message. Chris Robshaw pulled his team together as the final whistle blew and that shows he’s not waiting for Lancaster to come in, he wants to speak first.

That is such a positive for the coach and speaks volumes for their relationship.

The big difference between rugby and football is you need a guy on the field who can make decisions, calls you live or die by, as Robshaw discovered in the autumn.

His play on Saturday was awesome. He is redefining the role of an openside by being far more upright in contact than traditional opensides, offloading in the tackle and always trying to get his hands on the ball.

England have created a really strong team ethic and he is the core.

Robshaw set the tone in the fourth minute, when he caught the ball in touch and took a quick lineout. I remember Jason Robinson doing that 20 seconds into a match against France.

You get the ball in play, hit the next ruck hard with numbers and this sets the tempo for the game.

Captain fantastic: Robshaw showed great leadership and drove his side on

SUBSTITUTE WITH CARE

Lancaster set out England to play a high-tempo game and it worked very well. But it is very difficult to keep up that tempo if you make so many changes in the last stages of the game.

There is a balance: you benefit as a squad from getting everyone involved but you sacrifice your structure and potentially scoring more tries and putting a team to the sword.

You should take players off for one of four reasons — injury, fatigue, poor performance or tactics. Never just bring people on to give them a game.

You need to analyse post match why you made those changes and were they effective — getting this right is a key lesson for any international coach.

THE BEARD DEBATE

I was involved in a bit of banter about Joe Marler’s beard on the BBC, but there is a serious point to be made.

Dan Cole had a beard at the World Cup and now he’s clean-shaven.

He’s one of the best tightheads in the world, and now, for me, he really looks the business in every way. My focus was always on doing 100 things one per cent better — stubble is fine but not long beards, no way.

People who climb mountains benefit from beards, but you do not see Olympic 100 metres runners or Tour de France cyclists with beards. Rugby at the top level is a fast, athletic, power game. The same rules apply.

Beardy: Sir Clive was involved with Joe Marler (left) over his huge beard...